The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces its intent to award up to $2 million to fund the Risk Management Education Partnership Program.
Project Goal
The goal of this program is to ensure that “producers will be better able to use financial management, farm financial benchmarking, crop insurance, marketing contracts, and other existing and emerging risk management tools.” One of RMA’s strategic goals is to ensure that producers are well informed of the risk management solutions available to them. This educational goal is supported by of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA), which authorizes FCIC funding for risk management training and informational efforts for agricultural producers through the formation of partnerships with public and private organizations.
Cooperative Agreements are awarded with the goal that FCIC will fund crop insurance and risk management projects that are likely to become self-sustaining and not indefinitely dependent on FCIC funds. With respect to such partnerships, priority is to be given to reaching producers of Priority Commodities, as defined. A project is considered as giving priority to Priority Commodities if 75 percent of the educational and training activities of the project are directed to producers of any one of the three classes of commodities listed in the definition of Priority Commodities or any combination of the three classes.
Purpose
The purpose of this competitive program is to deliver crop insurance education and risk management training to U.S. agricultural producers to assist them in identifying and managing production, marketing, legal, financial, and human risk.
Education activities developed under the Risk Management Education Partnership Program will provide U.S. farmers and ranchers, including limited resource and other traditionally under-served farmers and ranchers with training and information opportunities to be able to understand:
The kinds of risks addressed by existing and emerging risk management tools;
The features and appropriate use of existing and emerging risk management tools; and
How to make sound risk management decisions.
Priorities
The program gives priority to:
educating producers of crops currently not insured under Federal crop insurance, specialty crops, and underserved commodities, including livestock and forage; and
providing collaborative partnerships to develop and deliver crop insurance education and other risk management training.
Top Priorities include:
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and Micro Farm Training
Equity and Opportunity
Crop Insurance Education to Tribes
Local Foods and Urban Ag
Organic and Specialty Crops
Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA)
Climate Smart Ag
Hurricane Insurance Protection -Wind Index Endorsement (HIP-WI)
Wildfires
Post Application Coverage Endorsement (PACE)
Other Agency Priorities:
Crop Insurance 101
Rainfall Index Insurance: Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF)/Annual Forage/Apiculture
All Livestock Products
Margin Protection
Revenue Protection
Double Cropping.
Funding Information
Estimated Total Program Funding: $2,000,000
Award Ceiling: $300,000
Award Floor: $5,000.
Eligibility Criteria
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Special district governments
State governments
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Small businesses
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Private institutions of higher education
County governments
City or township governments
Independent school districts
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).
